Most. Dramatic. Rose. Ceremony. Ever.
OK, we know Chris Harrison dubs each rose ceremony as The Bachelorette's most dramatic, but Monday's episode really did leave us stunned as one of the two men eliminated during the emotional episode made a surprise return to speak to a shocked JoJo Fletcher. But we'll get to that in second.
In the Aug. 25 episode, viewers saw a tearful JoJo bid goodbye to an absolutely devastated Luke Pell at the first rose ceremony, and later break-up with Chase Brody McNary mere moments after he finally said he loved her for the first time. It was painful just to watch, so we can't even imagine how painful it was to actually do it.
"It's very hard and it's emotional," JoJo told E! News of the two big break-ups at the Men Tell All taping last week. "I don't know if I can say which one was harder. They both were heartbreaking."
While viewers were stunned that JoJo still chose to send Luke home after he finally professed his love for her, leading to a cliffhanger at the end of last week's episode, no one seemed more surprised than the war veteran, whose shocked face and repeated "too little too late" mantra broke our hearts. And at the Men Tell All taping, Luke admitted to us he was nervous to see JoJo after their break-up in the airport hanger, but was ultimately happy with how their reunion brought things "full circle" for him.
"I was nervous, I'm not going to lie. It was the first time seeing JoJo...since the night that I left. It was a little scary," he said. "But at the end of the night, I was happy to see that she was at peace and happy with the decisions that she's made. It gave me some closure, it gave me some peace about what all happened, and I feel good. I feel good about the future."
And while Luke was almost too shocked to have an immediate response to the breakup, Chase immediately put all his "walls" up when JoJo ended their relationship just after he told her he loved her for the first time. In the fantasy suite. (Oof.)
"To go from being on the highest levels of joys with somebody and so excited to confess your love to them and then for that to be the ultimate reason why you're going home, I mean it was pure shock, it was pain, it hurt," Chase told us. "It took a couple of nights, a couple of weeks and definitely a lot of thought to get over that."
And while his initial response was anger, Chase made a surprising return during the rose ceremony. So what happened in between his exit interview, in which he said he regretted telling JoJo he loved her, to his emotional talk with the Bachelorette at the end of the episode?
"I woke up the next morning, and just knowing the situation and knowing what JoJO was going through, and knowing everything that needed to be said and done, it wasn't the way I wanted our relationship to end," Chase explained. "So it was important for me to have one last conversation with her. I'm grateful I was able to do that at that final rose ceremony, just to get a little bit better closure. Nobody wants to end a relationship on an angry feel, that's just not my way. I just wanted to tell her I was proud of her and she was doing the best she could do, I know that. I don't like the result, I still think she was wrong!"
To hear more from Luke, Chase and JoJo about the night's heartbreaking exits, watch our interviews with them above. And check back tomorrow for more from The Bachelorette's stars, including scoop on who is in the running to be the next Bachelor.
The Bachelorette: Men Tell All special airs Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. on ABC.